


Her Excellency, Bishop Sasarai

by Suzume



Category: Suikoden III
Genre: AU, Always The Opposite Sex, Community: 10_switched, F/M, Flirting, Friendship, Gen, Genderbending, Pregnancy, Sex swap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-02
Updated: 2008-06-02
Packaged: 2017-10-19 07:17:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/198324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Suzume/pseuds/Suzume
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ten moments in the life of Bishop Sasarai, daughter of Her Holiness, Chief Bishop Hikusaak.</p><p>[10 stories, in non-chronological order, in a universe where Hikusaak, Luc, and Sasarai have always been female, written for 10_switched @ lj.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Her Excellency, Bishop Sasarai

1\. Peeking Back and Forth

 

    Hugo peeked cautiously around the corner, anxious that the Harmonians currently staying at Budehuc Castle would not notice his wide-eyed interest in the female bishop.  He had dueled with her outside the Chisha Village, but somehow she seemed different now.  Perhaps it was because she was no longer keeping up her guard so carefully or it was just the duration of the conflict taking its toll.  She looked tired and leaned often on the arm of her tall strategist.

  
    Sasarai was careful to glance back out of the corner of her eye only when the young Grasslander had withdrawn around the bend in the hall.  She was charmed by his intense interest in her.  He was so young.  She was reminded of when she had become acquainted with his mother while at war in Highland.

  
    "What do you keep looking at?" Dios asked, tactfully keeping his voice low and not looking back.

  
    "It's Hugo, the Karayan boy," Sasarai explained, "He's been watching me for some time now."

  
    "And you thought this gave you the perfect chance to watch him back, I take it?"  His serious facade faded to reveal a sly smile and a teasing wink.  Being given a false hard time somehow lightened her heart.

  
    "I think I will say something to him," Sasarai decided, "But would it be alright for you to step away for a moment?  You could talk to your friends from Alma Kinan.  I imagine it might be easier for him to speak with me alone."

  
    "As you wish, Ma'am," Dios agreed.  He bowed just slightly, and headed off toward the main entryway of the castle where Yuiri and Yumi tended to chat in they had nothing important to take care of.

  
    "Hello Hugo," Sasarai called gently.

  
Hugo sheepishly stepped into view.  "Umm, hi, Bishop Sasarai."

  
    "Don't be embarrassed," Sasarai urged, "I'm the one who should be feeling shy.  I'm new to Budehuc and I keep staring at everything and everyone, which is rather rude.  You'd think a bishop should know better, but I can't help it."

  
    This admission put Hugo more at ease.  He smiled.  "Don't feel bad.  I've seen lots of things lately that really surprised me too."  He paused and sniffed the air.  "I, uh, I hope it doesn't bug you, umm, my saying so, but you smell good, like jasmine."

  
    Sasarai nodded, aware of the scent, "Thank you.  I'll take that as a compliment."  She breathed in deeply through her nose and cocked her head slightly.  "And you smell like wet grass and curry.  How refreshing!"

 

2\. Mothers and Daughters

 

    Though the True Earth Rune had no real heartbeat, Sasarai had always felt her presence, so now it was like having three heartbeats within her.  The rune had nurtured her maternal instincts with its connection to all green growing things and, further removed, to those things that lived by feeding on them.  Ashes to ashes, as it was said, all life was ultimately linked to the earth, and now she was taking a personal role in the creation of life, nourishing and sheltering the child growing inside her.

  
    It was frightening at times, with no one to ask for advice.  The rune was her only guide on this unfamiliar ground.  Sasarai regarded her as female, but in truth, runes, unlimited by the physical constraints of bodies, did not share human gender, only reflecting certain traits that their bearers and observers might regard as masculine or feminine.  Sasarai liked to consider True Earth as female.  She had always perceived her caring and supporting tendencies as similar to those of a mother.

  
    "Now," she spoke to the rune in her mind, "You will go beyond being my mother, to being a grandmother."  She laid her hand softly on her swelling stomach.  There were so many reasons she had feared having a child- could she physically handle the birth (Dr. Miyo feared her rune-stunted growth had left her too small for delivery)?  What about her potentially extended lifespan?  There was no reason to suppose she would not outlive this child or even a grandchild.  And even further, there was the social stigma as an unmarried woman, and a bishop no less, bearing the child of a man who was still legally married to another woman.  There was no way to know for sure that he would finally end his marriage and come to her side.  She could only trust in him and his love for her.

  
    As she rested in her room between meetings, True Earth soothed her with the glow of gentle yellow light.  This warmth washed calmly over her body, happing at her troubled mind like a slowly rising tide of good feelings.  True Earth was all for her bearing children- many of them, if the rune's murmured ideas, conveyed without true words, were any indication.  Sasarai, at this point at least, wouldn't say she was particularly keen on more than one.

  
    True Earth laughed at her insistence on a single child, but her laughter was the gentle kind of a mother who knows better than her naive daughter.  If I wish for you to be fruitful, you will be, the rune seemed to say.

 

3\. Princess and Prey

 

    As a young girl, she had once visited the court of the king of Highland.  Rumors leaked through the roughly made Valley Star newspaper run by two radical-leaning Leipzigs suggested there was talk of an alliance through marriage to strengthen the gradually loosening bonds between Harmonia and Highland.  As Sasarai was little known at the time outside the Temple in those days, these rumors remained unsubstantiated for some time.

 

    Princess Jillia was delighted by the visit of the Harmonian girl.  As the trip was an official one, with Sasarai, as well as the older, more illustrious persons she accompanied coming in a diplomatic capacity, Jillia was freed from lessons for the week to keep her from beneath her father's feet and to foster a chance of friendship with Holy Hikusaak's daughter.

  
    Jillia immediately found herself amused by Sasarai, who was close to a princess herself in her home country.  Sasarai was nothing like the Harmonian aristocrats who visited on special occasions.  First of all, her hair was on the short side compared to the popular styles of the time shown in the fashion illustrations from Harmonia.  Though she wore two blue ribbons in it, the overall style wouldn't have been out of place on a boy.  Secondly, though she seemed as delicate as a doll, she did not wear skirts or dressed, but blue and white robes, like a miniature priestess or bishop.  With a sash tied close around her tiny waist, the robes billowed out in a way that would've seemed ridiculous on one of the accompanying bishops, but was rather fetching on a small girl.  And those were only the obvious physical differences.  Though her temperament was pleasant and calm as might be expected of a girl in her position, Jillia was coming to see that strange secret currents moved beneath her serene surface.

  
    They spun tops on the flagstones of the courtyard, the slightly fallen sun sending the shadows of the tops spinning as well.  The tops were of quality, made in the Island Nations where the game surged into fad-like popularity every twenty years or so only to fade away again into a children's pastime.  
    "What do you do for fun in Harmonia?" Jillia asked.

  
    "I read or draw or play with dolls usually," Sasarai answered.  Her top slowed to a stop while she was looking away from it.  "Isn't your friend Klaus Harmonian?"

  
    "Half-Harmonian," the black-haired girl explained.  Her top circled slowly as it ran out of speed.  "He spends most of her his time in Highland though."

  
    "Bishop Hikami knows his mother."

  
    A shadow fell across Jillia as the sun behind her was blocked by the lanky, looming form of her older brother.  Sasarai looked warily into the prince's cold, hard  eyes.  He appeared both muscular and fierce, well-toned by extensive sparing practice, but still untamed on the inside.  Luca was eighteen.  Sasarai was not used to being paid much attention by people of that age.  After all, she was only a young girl and teenagers had affairs of their own to deal with.

  
    Jillia turned around to gaze up at her brother as well.  "What is it, Luca?" she asked.  Her innocent voice wavered from the swelling camaraderie and openness that had filled it when she spoke to Sasarai alone, shrinking to a decorous, careful murmur.

  
    "You're Sasarai?" the prince scowled.  "You're nothing but a useless brat.  You're useless to me."  He turned away as abruptly as he'd arrived.  "I don't need a wife."  He strode off irate and proud.

  
    Jillia shook slightly in fear.  She had managed to restrain herself in Luca's presence, but now the trembling chill passed through from her finger to her toes.

  
    "He scares you too?" Sasarai realized.

  
    "He scares more people than just you and me," the princess replied.  She seemed resigned to this uncomfortable situation.

  
    "I'm just glad he doesn't like me," the brunette declared firmly.  "He's weird.  I don't want to have anything to do with him."

  
    "No," Jillia whispered, "It's better if he likes you.  The people he doesn't like..."  Her voice trailed off into unintelligibility and Sasarai reached out comfortingly to touch her wrist.

  
    "I would trade places with you in an instant," Jillia thought.

 

4.  Charmed, I'm Sure

 

    The tent flap flipped back as Sumi, the strategist attached to Sergeant Hap, entered.  She bowed her head slightly in respect to the small lady bishop seated at the table.  "Bishop Sasarai," the blond girl spoke cheerfully, "General Rimini has sent over a member of his staff to work with you during this conflict."

  
    Sasarai raised an eyebrow curiously.  She didn't know any of Rimini's staff, but she hoped this person would be intelligent and easy to work with.  "Are they outside?  Let them in," she commanded cooly.

  
    "Yes, Ma'am," Sumi nodded, her straw blond hair sliding loose from her twisted pink hair band.  She drew back the tent flap and a tall man stooped to get through the entryway.  His black military cap fell from his head as he looked up and he scrambled nervously to catch it before it hit the ground.

  
    Sasarai smiled benevolently.  This thin, blond man was so awkward, but she couldn't help but find him charming.  "Pleased to meet you, Sir.  I am Sasarai."

  
    The military man blushed a little as he met the attractive young woman's wide, green eyes.  "Dios Mikahil, Ma'am."  He saluted.  He looked her over cautiously, interested, but afraid to appear disrespectful or too forward.

  
    "Have a seat, please," the bishop gestured for both strategists to fill the places beside her.

  
    Dios took his seat happily, always pleased to be so close to a cute girl.  His wife didn't have to know that he had spent his time in Higheast gazing on this sweet face instead of Rimini's bespectacled scowl.  ...Of course, he still feared it might get back to her.  Finding things to nag him about seemed to be one of Kina's talents.

  
    Sasarai, for her part, couldn't say she disliked being seated so near this man.  She had little romantic experience, but even she knew enough to tell that Dios was looking her over- and liking what he saw.  Of course, they still had serious business to attend to, so she pointed precisely to the place on the map she and Sumi had been considering prior to his arrival.

  
    "I think we could cut off the enemy troops on the way to L'Renouille if we head over here," she explained.

  
    Dios shook himself and settled back into military mode.  Further flirting could be saved for after the meeting, once Sumi was out of sight.

 

*****

    "Would you mind if I stayed a moment longer, Ma'am?" Dios asked, pausing in the entrance of the tent as though he had meant to leave with Sumi.  Actually, he had had no intention of departing at this point unless the bishop ordered him to do so.

  
    "No, not at all," Sasarai answered, catching a hint of the glimmer in Dios' eye.  She responded with her own small smile.

  
    Dios returned to his seat.  "You're by far the loveliest bishop I've met," he charmed her with an honest compliment.

  
    She was often flattered by admirers from all over, Harmonia and abroad, who had some interest- erotic, political, or both- in winning her heart, but his tone and bearing showed that he was among the more emotionally sincere of them.  "They should've warned me about you!" she laughed lightly, her cheeks rosy with warmth and merriment.

  
    "Yes," Dios had to chuckled as well, "I have a terrible reputation that I don't deserve!  This manner of mine has gotten me into trouble with my wife more times than I can count!"

  
    Sasarai was careful not to let her smile dissipate too harshly or quickly.  "Oh, so you're a married man.  I hope your wife appreciates all your ridiculously enchanting charm."

  
    Yes, she had been gentle about it, but Dios could easily see what this meant.  He was being turned down.  ...But he didn't want to let this go so easily...  Hoping he wouldn't be punished for his boldness, he took her delicate little hands in his.

  
    Sasarai seemed flustered by the action, but not angry.  She was looking steadily into his narrow eyes.

  
    "I plan to serve you ably and loyally, Your Excellency.  I hope that will be enough to change your mind."

  
    She disentangled her hands from his gloved ones calmly and politely, now focusing her eyes down on them, allowing her gaze to linger longest on her carefully polished pink fingernails.  "I've been very faithful to the teachings my whole life, Dios.  You may try, but you will see you have your work cut out for you."

  
    He stood and bowed before he left, conscious of the need to remain a gentleman, as Sasarai looked away thoughtfully.

 

5\. Craving and Resistance

 

    This was the little girl who had once been suggested as a possible bride for him.  Luca Blight was surprised to hear it.  She had grown up to be infinitely more appealing than she had first appeared to him as a white-robed, tomboyish child.  She was attractive and small and he could easily imagine the benefits of allying with her, both in bed and at war.

  
    "Bishop Sasarai," he nodded toward her brusquely as they were officially introduced by Leon.

  
    "Your Highness," she bowed politely.  Despite her layered robes, Luca could make out the smooth curves of her breasts.

  
    The number of soldiers that had accompanied her was disappointingly small in the Highlander's eyes.  It was clear that Harmonia was giving them only token support.  ...But if he were married to Holy Hikusaak's daughter, they would find renewed faith in their vassal state's cause.  If only he had known so many years that it would come to this.  He needed her.  He wanted her.  And Luca was not a man to be denied his desires.

  
    The bishop waved away her young blond assistant to trouble Culgan for some maps of the local terrain.  Seeing her standing alone in the fading daylight, the mad king made his move.  He strode pompously, taking wide, swaggering steps and managing to purposefully bump against Sasarai's side.  "Oh!  Oops!" she said automatically, even though it hadn't been her fault.

  
    Luca wrapped his arm around her waist from behind and placed his hand on her hip, holding her securely beside him.  "Hello Sasarai.  I hear that you're still unwed.  I am single as well.  But every king needs an heir, doesn't he?  And for that, he needs a wife."  He looked down at her as he spoke, his voice gradually gaining a vicious, predatory edge.  His fingers gripped her hip more tightly, pressing the blue fabric close to her enticingly pure body.

  
    Sasarai met his gaze coolly, her tightly pursed lips the only sign betraying her fear.  She resisted the urge to bolt after Nika amidst the tents to her own loyal troops.  The prospect of a chase threatened to fully awake the beast inside this fearful man.

  
    Luca fought his own instincts as well, itching to force himself upon her here whey they stood and allow her to deal with the consequences later.  There was the chance that such a move would irreparably sever Highland's ties to Harmonia.  Of course, there was also the possibility that a high-ranking Harmonian woman would accept marriage to the one who deflowered her over living as spoiled goods.  How could this little witch even consider doing otherwise?  He was rarely interested in women, even when it came to indulging his most lustful urges.  She should be honored to have caught a king's eye!

  
    Weighing the options in his mind, he shifted her to face toward his personal tent, and still holding her tight, bullied the little bishop into the tent as he spoke.  "I have a proposal to discuss with you that would profit both our nations.  Let's sit down and talk it over.  I'd love to hear what you think of it."

  
    The tent flap flipped closed behind them as Luca tossed Sasarai down onto  his bed.  Like all the furnishings brought by the royal family while on the field, it was strangely out of place on a military campground.  With both arms on the bed, one hand placed on each side of Sasarai, Luca leered menacingly at his intended bride.  He had long known the power a man could wield over a woman.  He had seen firsthand his mother's rape and her loss of sanity.

  
    Sasarai's large green eyes grew rounder and wider at this quick turn of events.  She was swiftly losing ground to the ally who had become her captor.  "T-tell me about your proposition," she shuddered, hoping to keep the focus on words, not deeds, until the atmosphere had lightened.

  
    Luca pulled off his gauntlets and the gloves beneath them.  "You marry me and bring a greater number of Harmonian troops down here to fight the war.  We'll win with any substantial Harmonian support and when we do, we'll split the city states with you."  His dark eyes were piercing like knives, "Your lot would love to have Tinto, wouldn't you?"

  
    "I-I'm not in a position to make that kind of decision," Sasarai answered, her words barely above a whisper as Luca, kneeling over her, his legs astride her hips, easily untied her sash.

  
    "But you can decide to marry, can you not?  And to accept a gift of land from your future husband as a kind of wedding present, correct?"  He pulled her white robe up to her hips, then to her waist, and slipped his hand beneath the smooth fabric, his fingers running across her cool skin to touch her firm breasts.  "You'll ask your mother for a dowry of troops and military supplies, won't you?  I'm sure she'll find all of this completely reasonable."  He stroked the tender areolas, feeling Sasarai's breast swell with excitement against her will.  "I might think your mother would be glad for you to have found such consummate happiness."  He stressed the word "consummate," his lips moving in sensuous slow motion.

  
    "Shut up," Sasarai told him, firm in her feeling, despite her growing fear.

  
    Luca continued to caress her breasts.  "I see.  You wish to proceed in silence.  I understand completely.  Words have never done much to arouse me either."  He moved his hands lower to rustle through her undergarments.

  
    Sasarai raised her arms and pressed her hands against his shoulders.  "Stop.  I mean it.  I came south to serve as your ally in war, not your consort in bed."

  
    Like a ravenous beast, he was not to be quieted so easily, his large fingers probing beneath the silken fabric to explore and enter her despite her protests.  Sasarai shivered, digging her hands into Luca's shoulders, between his neck and the thick-armored plates, as she went rigid, her spine curving despite herself.

  
    "Now, you see, I can pleasure my bride," Luca laughed.  The ten was growing ever darker as the sun faded away over the hills.  Luca kept her engaged with one hand as he used the other to free the hardened and anxious body part Sasarai could only glimpse as a threatening silhouette in the gathering shadows.

  
    "No," she repeated, "Let me go."

  
    "Oh, continue," he moaned, his voice dripping with desire, "Your struggles serve only to engorge me further and increase my lust for your chaste little body.  I only hope your feistiness predicts your strength in bearing sons!"

  
    He drew his hand away to pull aside her slips and undergarments, holding her apart to direct his arrow to its target.

  
    "You cannot have me," she smacked his brawny chest with her tiny hand.  "I will not marry you!  I will condemn you and head back to Harmonia the instant I am able!"  Her fear had sharpened into one last burst of ferocity.  "If you stop now we can still be allies!  Stop now and I will speak of this to no one.  Luca.  Stop."  The last hard words were hammered down as an irrevocable command.

  
    She looked as though she were about to say more, but whatever she was about to do, Luca did not want to hear it.  "You shut up, Sasarai," he silenced her.

 

7\. Chemical Reaction

 

    Father Raphael had just resigned his position in favor of the young priestess recently ordained as a bishop of the capital.  The older priest abandoned his Counsel position with few regrets, glad to return his attention to his home parish of Crona and the large family that awaited him there.  He took his leave amiably, departing just before Sasarai was set to arrive.  The other Counsel members awaited the newly appointed girl with mixed emotions.

  
    Olia reflected on her original introduction to Hikusaak's daughter.  The girl had just begun her formal religious studies at the time and was pale, small, and looked rather sickly.  She was unable to stand and bow to acknowledge the then-current Counsel's accolades, falling shakily back into her seat.  Olia had been against her appointment since that day.  What was the Holy Mother thinking cutting into the Counsel's election process to appoint such a young and unknown candidate?  And her own daughter no less!  Even for the heroine of the nation, at this point in her reign, the decision was a bit much.

  
    Now, all eyes upon her once again, Sasarai entered the room quietly, proceeding for the empty chair at the circular table.  She looked down toward her feet as she went, either bashful or humble.

  
    Several jaws dropped noticeably across the room.  Olia allowed herself a vague sigh of annoyance at the looks plastered across the faces of her young male students who were clearly reacting as men, not as Counsel members.

  
    "Thank you for having me," Sasarai murmured politely.  She nodded to them all in an expression of respect and gratitude.

  
    "Holy Mother, how could you?" Olia thought contemptuously.  She had never been fond of working with other attractive single women.  ...And Sasarai was much younger than her.  "I'll crush you," she growled mentally.  The reaction arose precisely as might have been expected.

  
    The response of the young man was equally strong but less conscious and they might, to various degrees, have denied it.  Ket, for one, was sure that Olia had nothing to fear from this beautiful young woman.  Why, after all, could she not simply be drawn into the ranks of Olia's faction?

  
    From the looks and remarks, Sasarai could tell that her mother's tranquil concept of her Counsel appointment had been mistaken.  Radiating around her was a silent explosion.

 

8\. Decorated With a Kiss

 

    Dios put his arm around the staggering woman.  Up 'til this point, the last two weeks had been filled with blow after blow for her.  Physically, today's had been one of the worst.

  
    "Thank you, Dios," she breathed.  The words were almost a sigh.  Sasarai was clearly exhausted.

  
    He could feel the rounded, but sharp tips of her fingernails where she clung to his shoulder and arm.  The touch, though through the heavy fabric of his uniform, was still exciting.  More enthralling yet was having his arm around her waist.  The adrenaline rushing through his veins wasn't helping any.  "Forgive me, m'lady," Dios gulped, scooping the bishop up in his arms.  "However, it will be easier to get you out of here this way."

  
    Sasarai looked a little jarred, but she did not complain, clearly sensing the wisdom in his words.  She reached gingerly to hold onto his uniform.

  
    It was true to an extent.  Dios could and did move faster now that his commander was safely in his arms.  His heart was pounding so fast, he felt as though it might leap from his chest.

  
    "I'll see that you are decorated for your valor here," Sasarai told him sweetly.  Her voice still held a healthy dose of admiration for what he had done- jumping in front of her to protect her from Lucca's wrath.  Dios had made good on all his noble promises and it soothed Sasarai's aching soul.  Lucca's words had cut as deep as her actions and she had rebuked their final efforts to drag her back from the abyss.  But Dios...loyal, wonderful Dios had defended her and supported her, despite her continued resistance to pursuing the type of relationship he so fiercely desired with her.

  
    "I don't need any medals," the blond man insisted.  The air was cold on his hot face as he sucked in his pride and ambition, crushing them down into a tight place inside himself like one squeezes shut an overfilled suitcase.

  
    Sasarai's tiny hand reached higher, brushing Dios' bare neck just above his stiff starched collar.  "Then if not a medal, how about a kiss?"

  
    They burst out into the sunlight, almost blinded after the dim depths of the ruins.  Dios leaned his head down towards the woman in his arms and let her kiss him.

 

9\. His and Hers Tea Party

 

    Albert, Dios, and Sasarai sat quietly in the tent in something of a stand off, sipping their tea from the fancy rose-colored cups the bishop always brought wherever she went, whether traveling for war, diplomacy, or fun.  Dios stirred his tea and when he set the spoon down, it clinked against the saucer in an embarrassingly noisy manner.  Albert and Sasarai raised their eyes to glance at him and he tried not to blush and make himself look even more foolish in front of these coldly staring eyes.  War or no war, they expected no less than perfect manners.  Dios found it a bit trying at times.  No matter how he tried, there was no way that he could be the most effete gentleman in Sasarai's life.  Surrounded by nobles and aristocrats, he was easily outclassed in that area.

  
    But what need was there for an overflowing reserve of lordly bearing when he found her to be the most lovely and enchanting woman he had ever met?  He was prepared to do anything for her.  It was love for his bishop, greater than simple patriotism, that had caused him to protect her at the Safir village.  His shoulder still throbbed from the wound he had taken there.  It was his anger over the attack that let him leave Rimini and the others to do their worst.  Perhaps in hindsight that was a foolish act.

  
    It was not a light-hearted tea party for Sasarai either.  This charmingly awkward man was taxing her resolve.  Vows aside, she was feeling terribly close to either slapping him or falling into his arms.  Perhaps she really did long for a man's embrace despite what she had always claimed and believed.  He was so loyal and funny.  But he was still married.  He was a fool to ruin his marriage for her.  Sasarai had met Kina, his wife.  She was beautiful and obviously shared many of her husband's interests.  They had two children.  What did Dios think would happen to them- how would they feel- if he suddenly left their mother?  She sighed.

  
    Albert, unlike his companions, was having a wonderfully amusing time.  It was clear that both Sasarai and Dios were contorting themselves into pretzels of mental anguish.  For the life of him, the Silverberg was unable to truly understand the attraction.  Sasarai was clearly more attractive, more powerful, and more talented.  If it was a husband she was seeking, better to look to the other members of the Counsel or the noble houses of Harmonia.  "Though I know I certainly wouldn't want her," he thought, "For all the power she'd open up to me, I couldn't take the trouble.  To think of myself and my children tied down by this country and family."  He scoffed at the mere idea of it.

  
    He finished his tea and glanced at the bishop.  "Lovely as this has been, Sasarai, I must bid you adieu," he said, "I have plenty of work to attend to."

  
    "It was good to speak with you, Albert.  I'm glad to hear that everything is still on track," she answered sweetly.

 

  
    No sooner was Albert two steps out of the tent than Dios was up out of his seat and kneeling at his bishop's feet.  "Sasarai, I can't handle this.  I won't keep my feelings all bottled up inside any longer.  I love you and I don't need anyone else.  I know that Kina and my children are dependent on me, but it's not Kina I love, it's you.  I'll do my best to see that they are taken care of, but I'll willingly brush them aside."  He took Sasarai's hand and held it tightly, savoring the mere sight of her pale skin and painted nails.  He kissed it softly, but not without a hint of passion that simmered in his heart.

  
    "I won't let you," Sasarai declared cooly, slowing drawing back her hand.  "I won't allow you to break up your family over me."

  
    Dios, disheartened, was forced to withdraw.  It was no longer as awkward as before.  It seemed that everyone's cards were on the table.  ...But no one liked the other's hand.

  
    "Prepare to head to the Chisha lands," the bishop ordered, "I am ready to launch an attack, so put your personal feelings aside."

  
    "Yes, Ma'am," Dios sighed.

 

10\. Wish of Friendship

 

    The young woman with the mask entered Crystal Valley with the approval of Albert Silverberg and the support of General Rimini.  She did not tarry in the markets or the libraries that distracted most visitors to the capital, instead she moved single-mindedly toward her goal.  Today she would accomplish a vital step in her ultimate plan: Bishop Sasarai, her deluded older sister, would appoint her as a bishop.  It would be a quick and simple ceremony, and then she would be off to once again pursue her own ends.

  
    The rhythmic clacking of her boots on the reflective crystal tile alerted Sasarai of her approach.  Sasarai's heart rose as the mysterious young woman came into sight.  Though her face was perpetually masked, she seemed quite young, and though she went about with a serious, determined air about her, her voice quavered at time with a pleasantly reassuring tremor of indecision.  According to General Rimini, her name was Lucca.

  
    Sasarai's hat slid a little too far to the left and she delicately corrected its balance.  She waited patiently in her full ceremonial dress, Hikami, Asa, and a few others from the Temple waiting wordlessly to her side to see and tacitly take part in the rite.  Sasarai fidgeted slightly, tugging at the dark fabric of her right sleeve.  Oh, how she wanted to talk to Lucca, woman to woman!  There were only two other women on the Counsel at the time and beyond her assistant, Sasarai found herself interacting with few women who were potential friends.  It had been a long time since her student days, when Fuko had practically forced his friendship on her.  She missed having someone to talk to as an equal.

  
    "Welcome, Lucca," she primly spoke up as Lucca approached the dais.  Sasarai raised her hand in a symbolic gesture of greeting.

  
    Lucca continued to wear her strange mask, her long lashes fluttering vaguely behinds its deep recesses.  There was no hint of a smile in response to Sasarai's brilliantly glowing reception.  She gave no reaction beyond the expected reply that would continue the traditional ceremony.

  
    Sasarai could not help but be disappointed as she moved on with the benediction.  She wanted a friend, but all she found was another ambitious cleric passing through.


End file.
